It has been called the San Francisco of the Midwest, and indeed, with its hills and bluffs, large expanses of water, waterfront harbors and marinas, with its raised highways and abundant Victorian architecture, it does remind one of the City by the Bay.
In miniature.
This old riverboat town on the Mississippi is Iowa’s oldest city. And although it is filled with architectural and historic treasures, it wasn’t considered a tourist destination until the opening of Dubuque Greyhound Park nine years ago. Up until then, Dubuque was best known for its meatpacking plants and farm equipment manufacturing.
But the riverboats came back. First was the Spirit of Dubuque, a sightseeing river excursion boat. When casino gambling became legal in Iowa at the beginning of this decade, the Casino Belle was launched as one of the first gambling boats on the Mississippi. For a while it was the largest gaming boat in the country, and its presence hastened the coming of riverboat gambling in Illinois.
Since 1985, Dubuque has seen the completion of 26 miles of the Heritage Trail for bikers and hikers; the development of Victorian Progressive Dinners at elegant Victorian mansions; the purchase of the Grand Opera House for live theatrical productions; the National Rivers Hall of Fame; the Boat Works Museum; the Iowa Welcome Center; the riverfront development at Ice Harbor; and the addition of docking facilities for other riverboats, like the Delta Queen, which stop in Dubuque several times a year.
Seven new hotels have gone up, and many existing historical hotel properties have been renovated. Twelve bed-and-breakfast establishments have opened, along with additional campgrounds, RV parks and houseboat rental facilities.
Add to that new golf courses and retail shops, more festivals and restaurants, plus horse-drawn carriage rides in the downtown area-and it all amounts to a renaissance for this one-time “Key City” on the Mississippi halfway between St. Louis and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
But Dubuque’s major attractions remain the gambling boat-the current one is the Diamond Jo-and Dubuque Greyhound Park.
The Diamond Jo is a converted New York harbor ferry boat designed to look like a 19th-Century paddle wheeler. It is docked at the Third Street Ice Harbor and can easily be seen from the Julien Dubuque bridge, which carries U.S. Highway 20 traffic across the Mississippi River from Illinois to Iowa. The dog track is just off Dubuque’s other bridge, the new Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge. (Dubuque is directly across from the Illinois-Wisconsin state line; the area, naturally enough, is know as the Tri-State area.)
A much older attraction is the Fenelon Place Elevator, which climbs the massive bluff and offers a dramatic view of the downtown area below. Built by a local banker who did not like walking up the steep hill, it claims to be the shortest, steepest scenic railway in the world. Erected in 1882, the lift is 296 feet high. The cost (each way) is 75 cents.
To the north is Dubuque’s Eagle Point Park, widely recognized as one of the finest public parks in the Midwest. Perched atop a limestone bluff overlooking the Mississippi and the Gen. Zebulon Pike Lock & Dam (No.) 11, the park boasts low-slung pavilions and buildings built in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright. The views from the park’s many vistas are majestic.
To the south, at the opposite end of town off Grandview Drive, is another site with spectacular views of the Mississippi-the Julien Dubuque Monument. The limestone battlement structure holds the grave of the French explorer who died in 1810.
Julien Dubuque lived in what would later become the city named after him long before Iowa or Illinois statehood. In fact, his charter to mine for lead at the former Indian village was from the governor of New Spain in Mexico. It was the “lead rush” of the early 1800s that brought fame and fortune to the city and surrounding areas (Galena, Ill., the most famous lead-mining center of that era, is only 15 miles away to the southeast).
More natural beauty can be seen at the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, 3125 W. 32nd St., open from May to November with a variety of seasonal shows and concerts.
Along the waterfront, the Iowa Welcome Center at the Third Street Ice Harbor is a huge converted warehouse that houses museums, shops and an observation deck. In addition to the Diamond Jo, Ice Harbor is also the mooring spot for the Spirit of Dubuque, the paddle wheeler that still offers daily sightseeing cruises but no gambling (call 800-747-8093 for schedules).
The museums of the Dubuque County Historical Society (at Ice Harbor) include the Riverboat Museum, the Boatyard, the Dubuque Heritage Center and the National Rivers Hall of Fame along with two historic vessels that can be toured-the tugboat Logsdon and the side-wheeler William M. Black.
One of the best of the many historic buildings in Dubuque is the Mathias Ham House, near Eagle Point Park at 2241 Lincoln Ave. The Italianate villa, elegantly restored with Victorian furnishings, has daily tours through Oct. 31.
Many of Dubuque’s grand mansions have been converted into elegant bed-and-breakfasts. The Dubuque Convention and Visitors Bureau (800-798-8844) can supply information about these and other attractions.
Outside of town are several other tourist attractions.
Just a few minutes to the south off Iowa Highway 52 is Crystal Lake Cave, a small natural cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites that was discovered by lead miners more than a century ago.
A half-hour to the west is Dyersville, where the National Farm Toy Museum is located. Nearby is the “Field of Dreams” movie site-a baseball field carved out of a cornfield. From April through October, visitors are welcome to play catch, run the bases or take a few swings. There is no charge for admission. (If you forget to bring your bat, ball or glove, you can rent them for $1 each for a half-hour.)
From noon to 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 and Sept. 18, local ballplayers (dubbed the “Ghost Players”) dressed in old-time costumes will emerge from the cornfield-just as they did in the movie; visitors can practice hitting, catching and fielding with them.
The only time the field is closed to the public is for part of Labor Day weekend during the Field of Dreams Festival, which includes a baseball fantasy camp. For more information on this charitable event or the weekend’s schedule, call 319-875-8151; for information on the fantasy camp, call 800-226-7794.
In the movie, the ghost of an old-time player asks the character played by Kevin Costner, “Is this heaven?”
“No,” answers Costner, “it’s Iowa.”
